It is well known in motor vehicles to mount an air bag within the instrument panel for deployment through an opening in the instrument panel. The opening in instrument panel is conventionally closed by a deployment door which is hingedly mounted on the instrument panel by a hinge defining a transversely extending hinge axis located at the forward end of the door. The rearward end of the door opens to permit deployment of the air bag toward the occupant.
The air bag is folded and stored in a housing mounted on the instrument panel and underlying the door opening. A gas generator underlies the air bag and inflates the air bag for deployment through the opening as permitted by hinging movement of the door about the hinge. The housing is defined by forward and rearward walls spaced apart by end walls to define a deployment opening in the housing. The size of the storage cavity defined by the housing is determined by the amount of volume needed to store the folded air bag.
The present invention provides a new and improved air bag assembly in which a deflector plate is attached to the air bag housing and projects somewhat overtop the storage cavity and the folded air bag stored therein to partially obstruct the deployment opening of the housing so that the path of the deploying air bag is deflected by the engagement of the air bag with the deflector plate to direct the air bag away from engagement with the hinge mounting the door on the instrument panel.